Fact Check: New York Times Snubs Whoopi Goldberg In Oscar Feature

The New York Times, which is considered by many as the gold standard in journalism, is catching flack for inaccurate reporting in a story they ran on Feb. 13 called 'Hollywood Whiteout.'

While drawing attention to Hollywood's continual omission of diversity from the Academy Awards was a good thing, The New York Times made a staggering error when they reported that Oscar statuettes have only been given "to a total of seven black actors," when in fact there have been 13 winners.

The most glaring oversight was the exclusion of Oscar winner Whoopi Goldberg, who won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in 'Ghost' in 1990.

The 55-year-old actress sounded off on the matter on her daytime talk show, 'The View,' where she expressed her disappointment with The New York Times feature.

"I am embarrassed to tell you that it hurt me terribly. When you win an Academy Award, that's part of what you've done, you're legacy. I will always be Academy Award winner Whoopi Goldberg and to have been dismissed and erased by the New York Times film critics who should know better, because not only am I an Academy Award win

ner," she said, before adding: "and just in case there's any damn question," and then pulled out her Oscar statuette.

Goldberg continued: "I've made over 50 films and I've been nominated twice – once for 'The Color Purple' and once for 'Ghost' – and I won for 'Ghost.' I am told that I am part of the twelve who have what they call the EGOT, this is not hidden information. And to these two critics, who are the head critics of the New York Times, it's hard to not take it personally. You know, there's a lot of things people say and do, but this is sloppy journalism because this is not a hidden thing. Everybody kind of knows. People in Somalia know. People in China know. Because I'm – and I know it's kind of hard to believe – am a worldwide person who is known. Because there wasn't anyone like me and it was 50 years between Hattie McDaniel, the first Black woman to win, and me – 50!"

The EGOT that Goldberg referenced is the small group of individuals who have won the coveted Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Awards.

Goldberg, who in addition to her work in film has starred in several sitcoms, hosted a late night show and co-produced the game show 'Hollywood Squares,' said she doesn't have any solutions Whoopi Goldberg

for how The New York Times can fix their faux pas.

"I don't know what to say about what you've done. It's just nothing I can accept. You're sloppy in your work and you're supposed to be better than this. This is The New York Times; this isn't some bozo newspaper from hoochie coochie land. This is The New York Times and it hurt. We are fragile egos, all of us, every one of us. If you're going to talk about us – yeah, it's easy to take pot shots – but damnit, get your facts straight," she concluded.

A rep for the Times responded to Goldberg's rant on 'The View' in a statement to Entertainment Weekly.

"The error lies with those who are reading the story incorrectly," the statement reads. "The point of the piece was not to name every black actor or actress who has been awarded an Oscar, it was to draw a comparison between the number who won prior to 2002 (the year Halle Berry and Denzel Washington won) and those who have won since. And the story states very clearly that in 73 years, prior to 2002, only seven black actors/actresses won Oscars."

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